Miss Watson
by thenostalgicdreamer
Summary: Years after the events of the show, Lindy is unexpectedly reunited with Garrett after her colleagues end up hiring him as a teacher at her school.
1. Chapter 1

Lindy Watson strolled through the doors of Centennial Elementary with the biggest smile on her face. She loved summer fully embracing the opportunity to travel abroad, spend whole days at the beach, and laze around the house bingewatching her favorite shows. That said, she was always excited for school to start again especially since she rarely saw Shantelle, Avery, and Cristal during the summer. They might be her teammates, but they were also her best friends. She loved getting to spend her days with them and of course their super awesome students. Sadly, Avery was not returning this year choosing to stay home with her twin boys instead. Lindy knew she would miss her a lot. They had only worked together for three years, but Avery was a natural teacher and a kind and caring friend.

Fortunately, the team had found an excellent replacement at least according to everyone who had sat in on the interview. Lindy hadn't been able to be there herself—she had been in Japan for an extended trip. It was so expensive she only got to go and visit her old friends periodically. She missed them a lot now that she was living in the States, and it was her great consolation that she had gotten to visit them this year. There was no way she was changing her plane tickets just to sit in on an interview her colleagues and principal were perfectly capable of handling themselves.

Their new team member was about their age according to Shantelle and had been teaching fifth grade for quite awhile now. He seemed very knowledgeable with a lot of thoughts about pedagogy and working with children. He was a cool guy Shantelle had contended, and best of all, he was single. She had texted that to Lindy with a winky face. Lindy wasn't sure how his singleness was supposed to be a good thing. Constantly surrounded by accomplished women who were daily proving how good of mothers they would be, single guy teachers were a rarely. Most of them were snatched up before they reached twenty-five, and thinking about a guy teacher being single at thirty-five made Lindy wonder what was wrong with him. If he was as awesome as everyone was saying, he must have a skeleton in his closet or maybe he was divorced? Lindy didn't know yet, but she had long been out of the work dating scene being too old for the baby teachers coming out of college. She wasn't wanting to go back in now.

Besides any fears about what her new colleague might actually be like, Lindy actually enjoyed being single and wasn't sure she wanted to change that. Her life was simple and satisfying. She spent her days pouring into her students, and she had colleagues at work and other friends for adult conversation. When she got home, everything was quiet and peaceful, and her dog Sam kept her from getting too lonely. The Miss Watson life was great.

After glancing at her watch to check the time, Lindy decided to stop by her classroom before heading down to the library for the nine o'clock meeting. She had been having a few ideas for more alternative seating, and she wanted to see if they would work. Besides, she wanted to see the space that was her home away from home during the school year. After unlocking the door, she opened it and stepped in. Right after summer the classroom was a shadow of its former glory with the desks and chairs stacked and supplies put away, but in her mind's eye, she could see it in the middle of the bustle of a school day. She went over to the counter and ran her finger down it. Looking at it, she was happy to discover that it was clean! The janitors had obviously had extra time to dust everything down. She was prepared to do it herself, but she would look forward to not having too.

She was very curious about the new teacher, so she decided to poke her head in his room. He probably wouldn't be there, but you could tell a lot about someone from their classroom. The door was shut and locked, but she could see a little through the window. The walls were bare except two posters one that looked solar system related and the other that looked like the states of matter. He obviously was a science nerd! It would be fun to get his ideas for the science lessons. She didn't mind teaching science, but she felt more at the top of her game when she was helping students write an essay or discuss a piece of literature. Besides the posters, the room was pretty empty. There were a few bins and a bookshelf full of books, but that was about it. Typical guy teacher room—they weren't often into themes or lots of decor at least in Lindy's experience. He might have more stuff to bring but probably not much since new teachers usually set their classrooms up prior to the first week of meetings.

As she made her way to the library, Lindy found that in spite of herself she was actually excited to meet her new teammate. Perhaps he wasn't as weird as she had imagined. It would be fun to have a guy on the team at least. Some of the boys related better to a guy teacher, so having one would be helpful. Plus, it was likely to make their team meetings more fun.

Walking through the door, she caught sight of Shantelle and Cristal and headed for their table. It was so exciting to be back with her peeps. It was going to be such a great year. She was so engrossed in talking to them that she forgot to look for their new teammate. She was startled by a "hi" from a voice that sounded very familiar. She looked up only to confirm what she already knew. It was Garett!

Lindy was so taken aback that she found herself incapable of responding at first. What the heck was Garrett doing here? She didn't know that he was currently teaching let alone that he taught elementary. Even so, what were the odds that he would end up at her school in the Illinois cornfields? She hadn't seen in him forever. The last time had probably been Logan and Jasmine's wedding. Last she heard, he was living in Ohio. She did follow him on social media, but he rarely posted so it was hard to get information from there. Logan did keep up with him, but he was generally forgetful. Besides, he much preferred talking about his kids to giving the latest news from his high school best friend.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I'm not sure if there's anyone who still remember I Didn't Do It, but I do. Anyway, this idea popped in my head, and I decided to write it. I'm planning on adding at least a little bit more about what happens next so please don't suggest what you what to see happen. That said, I'd love to hear from you if you read this.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Lindy!" Garrett exclaimed clearly equally surprised. She stood there staring at him unable to do anything else. She couldn't get past the fact that he was actually here and that he looked like he had practically stepped out of the past. That was a bit of surprise since she would have expected he would look a lot older like the rest of the squad did. Logan no longer had his baby face; Jasmine had aged quite a bit doubtless the effect of undertaking the daunting journey to becoming a doctor while raising children, and Delia had a totally different style these days. Garrett though looked the same. Maybe high school Garrett wouldn't have worn dress slacks and a classy down button, but it looked like something that he would have worn if he was a teacher. With that thought, Lindy's mind jumped to the present, and the fact that Garrett was expecting a reply.

"This…this is…" she began. "This is Garrett." She immediately cursed her inability to keep from stuttering when she was nervous. Besides, it was a ridiculous thing to say. Of course, Shantelle and Cristal knew this was Garrett. Her brain wasn't working right, but how was that for an excuse? She was way too old for this to keep happening.

"Nice, girl, I had no idea you two knew each other," Shantelle said smiling at Lindy. Lindy knew what that smile meant—I told you so. She didn't want that right now.

"Why don't you sit down?" Lindy said to Garrett. "We…usually sit together…the fifth grade team, I mean."

He took the seat right next to her. "Thanks."

"We're glad to have you on the team, Garrett," Cristal added. "We were really impressed by your qualifications and knew you'd be a great fit for our team."

"Umm…thanks for the opportunity. I know I'm going to like working with all of you too." He spoke hurriedly and looked down at the notepad he had brought with him as he finished. It was such typical Garrett behavior that Lindy had to smile. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who hadn't outgrown acting awkward.

Just at that moment Principal Kyle began the meeting. Lindy was normally a very active participant, but today her mind was on anything but the meeting. It was hard to settle down and focus on the impending school year when Garrett was sitting right next to her. She told herself to relax. It was just Garrett. She had known him forever and seen him through his awkward years. She was an adult now. This was no big deal.

But she was still freaking out. Garrett was right beside her, and he'd be right across the hall for the next 180 days. He would know practically everything she did— the top speed runs down the halls when the kids were gone, the loud singing of educational songs, the crazy Lindy moments when she was trying to make a point. He would be there every time she got ridiculously passionate at the team and school meetings. When she thought of how he would react to all of that, she could just imagine him chuckling. After all, he was the one who said she was great but got too overly excited, and that had always made him laugh. Thirty-five or not, that was not likely to change.

Still, it wasn't all terrible. Sometimes, she felt like she was two people—the cute, excited friend and the crazy, passionate teacher. She alone bridged that gap as her colleagues rarely saw her outside of work and her friends never saw her with the kids. If she had to pick one, she would pick the teacher version of herself. Inspiring the kids to love life and learning like she did felt so true to herself. She didn't have to rein in the craziness but let herself talk as loudly as she wanted, be the energetic person she was. If her colleagues thought she was weird, it didn't matter because it worked with the kids, and she was there for them. The truth was that they loved her anyway. Maybe it was because teachers are a special breed of people. Either way, Garrett was going to get to see all of that and to watch her be the version of herself she loved best. That was pretty exciting. Maybe he'd actually fall for her this time, and it wouldn't stay this sad one-sided thing.

Yes, Lindy "liked" Garrett. Liking sounded so juvenile, so maybe it was best to call it being interested in? Whatever you called it, she had had feelings for Garrett for a long time now. It hadn't started when they were kids even though he had been around a lot then. He had always just been Logan's best friend. She had actually been kind of annoyed with him because he got hurt so easily and was scared of everything. That meant that he had put the kibosh on a lot of her grand ideas of what to play. She could remember a lot of times she had been mad about that.

By high school, things had gotten a lot better. Garrett had grown less fearful, and she spent a lot of time with the girls which helped her be more patient with him. Plus, she finally began to notice his good qualities. Garrett was an amazing friend. He had a caring heart and would stop at nothing to help someone he loved. He was also a great judge of character and gave the best advice. Sometimes, Lindy hadn't really appreciated it at the time, but he had been right. Beyond all that, he was a passionate person who lived his life very intentionally. That had taken Lindy forever to notice because he was so quiet about it and did it in a very different way than she did, but he thought everything through and was very focused on his goals.

Looking back now, she thought she had probably fallen for him in high school. She didn't know it then because she had been so lost in her own prospective, but once college rolled around she had finally noticed. The entire squad went their separate ways for college, and Lindy missed them terribly. She made a lot of new friends and kept busy with an active social life and lots of studying. However, she still felt lonely. That had eventually led her to the realization that she was missing Garrett. She missed his advice and his support and the way that he was always able to make her smile. When breaks finally came, she was always so excited to go home and see him. Maybe he was just Garrett her old friend, but she found herself trying to impress him putting on her best outfits and trying to show off everything she was learning in her literature classes. That just made things awkward, but she couldn't make herself stop. She just kept hoping that eventually he would notice and have the courage to ask her out. Instead, they had just grown apart and became so busy they barely even saw each other even on breaks from school. At that point, she had figured that he didn't like her the same way. He was way too self-aware to miss something like that.

The last time she had seen him had been at Logan and Jasmine's wedding where he had been the best man and she the maid of honor. She had been so excited for the wedding and getting to walk down the aisle with Garrett. Besides, she would be looking her best in an adorable dress with professionally done makeup and hair. What a perfect setting to finally get his attention! To her disappointment, he had showed up with a plus one—a girl he had been dating for a few weeks. They were just getting going, but he wasn't looking for a girlfriend when he already had had one. Lindy and Garrett had danced at Jasmine's insistence, but that had just filled Lindy's heart with sadness. Garrett wasn't interested in her and probably wouldn't ever be. At that point, she had made up her mind to get over him. It just wasn't going to work out.

Maybe it made sense that she was freaking out that Garrett was here. He was single, and she would get to spend her days with him. Perhaps she was getting a second chance. She was ready to take back everything bad she had thought about the new teacher being thirty-five and single. There was likely a story, but given that it was Garrett, she knew that it was nothing bad. Now that she was past the initial shock, she felt so excited that she could scream. Unfortunately, she had to hold it in—it wasn't school cheer time yet. Cheering or not, she knew that this was going to be an amazing year.


	3. Chapter 3

The next two days passed rather uneventfully despite Lindy's excitement levels being through the roof. The new year was always a happy time for her. She loved the way everything felt fresh and new. A million thoughts and questions were passing through her mind at any one moment, and she couldn't wait to meet her class and get back to doing what she loved best. This year, she had the added excitement of Garrett being there too, doing everything right alongside her. Going through her days with him felt like an odd sort of deja vu and made her wonder if they weren't actually elementary teachers but high school students who somehow had classrooms and students of their own. As the days passed, however, she was forced to admit that this was all new. She was different; Garrett was different. Fifteen years had passed since they had really known each other. Even though being with him felt so natural, she didn't know how he was going to react to react or what he was going to say, and that made every moment infinitely intriguing. With that realization came the desire to know him and everything that had happened to make him the man he was today.

As much as Lindy wanted to sit down and talk with Garrett, opportunities were few and far between. They spent their week together surrounded by their teammates. Lindy had wanted to get rid of the other two, but that just didn't happen. Instead, she was stuck with Shantelle's eyes on her every time she as much as looked Garrett's way. She was quite sure she had seen a smirk on her colleague's face every time that happened. So Lindy had found herself trying to act like she wasn't painfully aware of Garrett's presence or hanging on his every word.

She was starting to feel a little sad. The week and its opportunities for getting to know Garrett were almost gone. He had talked a little, but he had seemed reluctant to talk about himself. She was not likely to get much out of him when everyone was around especially when that made her not feel comfortable asking questions. To make matters worse, school started Tuesday, and the crazy month of August stretched before her after that. Lunches would be spent doing prep work, and they wouldn't have free time to chat in their classrooms during the day. If Garrett continued the pattern he had started this week, he would dismiss himself right after to school and head into his classroom to work or go straight home.

Lindy was cutting out the labels for the students' cubbies when she thought she heard something and turned to see Garrett standing in the entry area of her classroom. She jumped. He was really here. She couldn't stop her hands from shaking as she set down the scissors down on her back counter. She stood there not knowing what to do with her hands. Could she come closer or was that weird? She wasn't sure, but she thought she might be standing too far away. Garrett's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Lindy," he said wringing his hands. "Cristal said that you have the parent newsletter."

"Yes," she replied. She wasn't sure what would happen if she made eye contact, but she really liked the white trim on the pockets of his blue button down, so she focused her eyes on that. "Here let me send it to you. If you wait a moment, I can make sure it actually goes." She made a quick sprint to the computer thankful to leave all those silly worries behind. She was happy Garrett was here, but at the same time, it all felt so awkward.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea."

They were both silent for a moment. Lindy felt exceedingly relieved to have something to do—something that kept her from standing there staring awkwardly at Garrett's shirt.

She jumped again when she heard his voice. Why did Garrett have to have to this effect on her? She was acting like a junior high girl with a crush. Garrett was a grown man—he was not going to find that impressive. She was determined he was not going to find out how she felt even if it made things a little awkward in the process. "Hey, nice classroom," he commented. "I'm not really into decorating, but this is really cute."

"Thanks! I've been working on it for the past three years." She felt a blush coming to her cheeks and focused her eyes on the computer. There was no way she could face his eyes right now. "…nice….The copy of the file I sent to myself came through. We should be good….Would you like me to show you around…if you have a minute?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Yeah, why not?"

She walked over to him not knowing where to stand. She didn't want the distance to feel awkward but the closer she got to him the more she was aware of the sound of her own heart beating. "I have four types of seating this year…" She pointed out each as she mentioned it. "Regular desks of course, low tables with floor cushions, exercise balls, and those modern rocking chairs."

"That's cool. I'm sure the students are going to love it. I just have desks, but we do a lot of movement breaks with Go Noodle and what not."

She looked over at him again aiming her eyes for one of the tiny stars on the shoulder of his shirt. "Nice. I do that too….I had the desks and low tables last year, and they were a big hit. There's the reading nook and library, the Smartboard, the vocabulary wall, and the cubbies obviously….And my favorite….come on over..." She gestured for him to follow her. "My office. I'm not here much during the day obviously, but I still love it." She stood behind her office chair setting her hands on it for support.

"It's so cute, Lindy." Garrett's voice sounded way too close, but she looked up to see him actually two feet away. "Wait is that a picture of Logan and Jaz's kids?" he asked leaning in for a closer look.

She took the picture off the wall. "Yep, I'm a proud auntie. Here." She handed the photo to him. "They're all so cute."

"Yeah," he said. "Logan and Jaz have beautiful kids." He passed the photo back to her. "Isn't it weird that they're married and have four kids?"

"Definitely! Sometimes I feel like we're in still in this extended phase of high school," she said as she returned the frame to its place on the wall.

"Extended phase of high school?" he laughed. "I feel really old these days."

"Don't use that word, Garrett!" She felt a blush come to her cheek as those words came out in her scolding teacher voice. "I like to think of it as mature, established."

"Leave it you, Lindy, to describe aging in the most sophisticated manner possible. Is your glass of water still overflowing with the best water ever?"

"Garrett!" He had apparently become a tease sometime along the line, and it was the cutest thing. But you were silly to think she would ever admit as much to him. She could control herself. "It's called being an optimist and even if you're a pessimist you surely must be able to appreciate that."

"I do. This year is going to be so much brighter because you're here…" His words were kind and encouraging, but Lindy sensed sadness in his tone which become increasingly flat.

She didn't know what to say. He was clearly sad, and she didn't know why. The thought of something mysterious she didn't know filled her with curiosity, but she didn't want to scare him off, so she didn't ask any questions. Unsure of what to say, she remained silent.

"'Why do you think you can make a difference in these kids' lives? Because I'm their teacher' " he read clearly having noticed the canvas hanging to the left of the picture. "I like that."

Turning back to Garrett, she stared at the wall behind him. As exciting as it was to have a conversation with him about something that meant so much to her, she felt awkward about it too. Her reasons for teaching were deep and personal and hard to put into words. "It's by my favorite fictional teacher—Cory Matthews. It's why I am here. It's amazing to me that by being here—being these kids' teacher I have the opportunity to change their lives for good."

"That's beautiful, Lindy," he said in a quiet tone. She granted herself one quick glance at his face, and the softness she found there made her feel like she could cry. "Your students are lucky to have you….you seem so happy here, and that's so great to see."

"This is where I'm supposed to be." She paused. The words felt so powerful and existential that she let them hang. "I know the last time you saw me I was talking about how I was going to make the New York Times Bestseller list and be in off-Broadway plays, but that just wasn't for me. Eventually, I had to quit because I wasn't making a go of it. Exploring my options, I found out that I could teach English at a university in Japan with my degree, so I went there for three years. I'm guessing you heard about that?"

Garrett nodded. "Yeah, I think Logan told me about that."

"I fell in love with teaching and thought I would get a job at a university ESL program here when I got back. I was never going to teach kids. That just wasn't a Lindy Watson thing, but my cousin happened to be going on maternity leave right after I was returning. She put in a good word for me, and I got assigned to take over her classroom for the next six weeks. I was scared out of my mind and dealing with reverse culture shock, so it wasn't exactly easy. But I loved her students. They were so capable yet still responsive to adult guidance. It was really exciting to think about getting them excited about life and sending them off to middle school on a good note. I was sad when she got back and immediately began researching education master's degrees. I enrolled the next fall, and I've been working here since I graduated."

"That's wonderful," Garrett said sincerely. "I'd love to stay and chat more, but my classroom's calling. I've still got a lot to do before open house on Monday."

She felt her heart sink. Getting to talk to Garrett was so wonderful she never wanted it to end. But he did have a point. They had work to do; talking could wait. "Me too." She walked over to her scissors again. "See you around."

"Same. Nice talking to you, Lindy."

Lindy sighed as she turned to watch him walk away. She was sunk. It hadn't even been a week, and she was already so smitten with him. On one hand, it was only natural when she had had feelings for him for so long, but at the same time, she could tell that she was taking this very seriously already. She wished she could get a sneak peek at where she'd be at next May because she couldn't wait to see how this was all going. Unfortunately, that was impossible, so in the meantime she had to take everything one day at a time.


	4. Chapter 4

After the first week of school, things started to slow down as Lindy settled into the familiar routine of preparing, teaching, and grading before relaxing a little and heading to bed early so she was ready for the next day. Some people might call her life boring, but they obviously didn't know teaching. Perhaps her schedule and her routine were set, but within each day were a million little moments that were entirely unpredictable. What was that but exciting? Besides, she liked the kids she spent her days with. Yes, she definitely had challenging students this year, but it would hardly be teaching if she didn't. She liked her class with its mix of curious, active students who were afraid of nothing and quiet, reserved ones who were all too eager please. Besides, she had her team to help her stay grounded by reminding her she wasn't alone in the struggles she faced. In the midst of it all was Garrett who gave her routine a feeling of newness that didn't fade as August became September.

Garrett, yes, Garrett was there the whole time, and there was hardly a moment when she wasn't deeply, intimately conscious of his presence. It was as if she could feel twenty feet of space that separated their classrooms. He was so close—close enough to hear every word she said if he were listening, to take eight steps and cross the distance between his space and hers. The overwhelming feeling of closeness wasn't new; only it had been so long that she had almost forgotten what it felt like. It had been like this in elementary school before she had started going over to Jasmine's when the boys had a sleepover. She could still remember seeing his weird monster footie pajamas and waking up to hearing his snoring down the hall. Or in high school when they had taken classes together, and she had felt him watching her twirl her hair and bite her pencil. Just shy of twenty years had passed since then, but the feeling inside of being overwhelmed by his presence was just the same. She wasn't sure how how she had ever missed that she didn't feel everyone like that. This happened because it was Garrett. She had somehow soaked him up until her heart was full and loudly clamoring that it wanted more. It wasn't okay being his friend and colleague. No, her heart wanted to know everything about him; it wanted to know what he loved, what drove him crazy, what inspired him. And she definitely couldn't do without hearing every story of what had happened to him in the years that she had missed. That kind of clamoring was scary when he was just across the hall, and she wanted desperately to not look like the silly, overly exuberant girl he had always watched in high school. She wanted to be calm and collected always—the picture of moderation and reserve.

That was proving hard under the circumstances when Lindy saw Garrett all the time. He was there when she walked her kids to lunch, when she collaborated with her team, when she had recess duty, when she had a question and he was the best one to ask. And he was always with his students. Maybe that barred adult conversation, but it also made him ten times more attractive to her than usual. She wasn't sure why no one talked about how seeing guys working with kids was one of the cutest things on the planet. Even if her reasons for teaching didn't exist, she felt like she could almost teach for the occasional glimpses of her male colleagues doing what they did best. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating a little. Still, Lindy's heart flip-flopped every time she saw Garrett surrounded by his students. Being the new fifth grade teacher was not an enviable position; it meant you were taking the place of a person some of the kids had been dreaming of having for years. Yet, Garrett had won the hearts of all of his students with kindness and stability and unwavering devotion. Sometimes when she walked into his classroom, Lindy was taken aback at the atmosphere. It was quieter and lower energy than hers, but there was so much warmth that you could literally feel the respect, love, and admiration that all of the kids felt for Mr. Spenger. They knew not to cross him and send him into feisty teacher mode, but at the same time, they had no doubt that he was always on their side.

And don't get her started on his button-down collection. It was enormous and the perfect mix of both preppy and ridiculous shirts. It seemed like he was always wearing a new shirt which was odd considering the lack of interest he had shown in fashion when he was younger. Even his desire for cleanliness wouldn't dictate this many shirts. Eventually, Lindy had the thought that perhaps it had become everyone's favorite gift idea for Christmas and his birthdays; that had to be it. Every day, she found herself looking forward to what new shirt he would be wearing. She had never been more aware of how much she liked button-downs and their classy, yet unpretentious vibe. Maybe it was because Garrett wore button-downs better than anyone else or maybe she simply loved anything that had to do with Garrett.

As the days passed, Lindy found herself pondering the question of Garrett's feelings for her. Shantelle had made no secret of the fact that she thought Garrett was interested, but Lindy wasn't sure. Shantelle didn't know Garrett like she did. She hadn't grown up with him as the twin sister of his best friend. She hadn't seen him through the awkwardness of the middle school years and the drama of high school and been his friend as they both blossomed into the people they were today. If anyone would know, it would be Lindy who had been there watching him the whole time, but she had to admit that his feelings were and always had been an enigma. Despite the closeness they had shared, she had had at best little peeks into the inner workings of what made him Garrett. The rest had remained shrouded in mystery.

Some of it, she had to admit was due to growing up unaware of how much he meant to her. For years, she had defined what she felt for him as friendship unknowingly or perhaps willfully denying that it was so far from platonic. That whole mindset had left her with little interest in knowing his feelings, and nothing that would have been telling had ever stood out to her. If he had ever loved her then, she had had no inkling, and it was too late to dig for the clues now that they had disappeared into the hazy edges of her memory. That left, of course now, because by some miracle it was not too late. Garrett was still single, and it was within the realms of possibility that he loved her just as much as she loved him.

Given the state of her feelings which was only getting worse by the day, the best course of action seemed to be to find out how Garrett felt. Unfortunately, that was far from simple. Despite Garrett's constant presence, they didn't really talk much these days not outside of team meetings and planning times and the necessary rants. It was only natural when what they shared was teacher partnership, a relationship tis grounded the sharing of the ideas, the frustrations, and the joys of their work. For many, true, it extended out to become a friendship that didn't just center around work, but it wasn't surprising that Garrett hadn't shown any interest in that. He didn't have a family, and if the bachelor teacher life was as uneventful as her life as Miss Watson, Lindy was completely sympathetic to having nothing else interesting to talk about.

Still, if she was honest, she was a little surprised that they still hadn't talked more than casual conversations about math lessons, intervention data, and class parties. When she had first realized that he was the new teacher, she had been so sure that they would spend hours catching up and sharing about how the years had treated them. That hadn't happened at all, and on several occasions, Lindy had contemplated going to the lengths of calling Logan to ask him what was wrong with his best friend. Knowing it wasn't the right approach, Lindy had restrained herself. Still, she wandered what had happened to Garrett. He was not angry with her. That was clear when she saw him making sure to look out for her in small ways. He always let her class go before his no matter where they were going, and he held the door open for her and always offered to help with the bulging bags and full boxes she was too proud to admit she found particularly heavy. And he seemed to like to sit by her at meetings. Still, he had yet to open up. That was puzzling to her when he had always been so ready to share his heartaches and struggles when they were young. It had worried her then that someday he would realize that not everyone cared enough to listen and that would make him pull back. Perhaps that was what had happened—life had made him feel like there was no choice but to pull into his shell. Garrett had always been skittish, and something like that would easily change his demeanor.

Thinking about how Garrett must feel was enough to break Lindy out of whatever gridlock had kept her from thinking the past few weeks. What did it matter what her heart wanted when Garrett needed her to be his friend? She was being foolish to let the desire for her feelings to stay hidden keep her from being able to reach out to him and care about his feelings.

"Garrett?" she said walking through the open door of his classroom.

"In a hurry, I see?" he said looking up from the math pages he was grading. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. Why couldn't she make herself walk slower?

She came stood in front of his desk and forced her mind away from the delightfulness of his flowery blue button down. "I just thought I'd come in and say hi," she explained. "I've been so busy lately that I realized I haven't even said good morning."

"It's okay," he said in an even tone. "I've been busy too. Such is the teaching life." He sounded sad somehow, and that made Lindy's heart hurt. How hadn't she noticed that he was suffering?

"True," she replied. "I guess I just wanted you to know that I'd love to catch up sometime if you ever have time….It's been so long since we got to talk about, you know, life stuff and everything that's happen since….uh….high school, and it'd love to hear about what you've been up to." She was talking a mile a minute in her loudest voice as she finished, but she couldn't help it. She really was that excited. At least Shantelle had left early for an appointment, and Lindy wouldn't be hearing about this tomorrow.

"That would be nice. I'd like that." He was more noncommittal than Lindy would have liked but at least his words were sincere, and she knew that they would probably get together fairly soon.

After asking about his day and how his students had done on the math assignment, she dismissed herself back to her classroom with a happy heart. Maybe Garrett liked her, maybe he didn't but either way she could be his friend, and when that seemed to be what he needed, she couldn't ask for more.


	5. Chapter 5

After that day, Lindy was determined to focus her attention on being Garrett's friend first. Her first year at the school had been so rough, and she imagined that first year was still hard even if you weren't a brand new teacher. What Garrett needed was love, kindness, and support—a person he could go to when he needed someone not a person who smothered him with unwanted attention. He would come to her when he was ready. In the meantime, she would look for little opportunities to show that she cared whether it be leaving little notes of encouragement on his desk, wishing him good morning or good evening, or offering to take his recess duty when he looked especially tired.

Still, she found it hard to banish all of the romantic thoughts from her mind. A piece of her heart had belonged to Garrett for so long, and when he was finally within reach, it was hard not think about the possibilities. Besides, by agreeing to catch up, Garrett had indirectly communicated that he was down for getting to know her again. Who knew where that would lead? Maybe they had never been more than friends before, but who was to say that that they wouldn't end up in romantic relationship territory now?

They had always been close. In fact, it was she not Logan who had befriended little Garrett first. It all went back to the first week of kindergarten when Garrett had been so intimidated by the size, noise, and dirtiness of the school that he had cried every day. Watching him cry had stirred up feelings of sympathy in Lindy, and she had gone out of her way to befriend him. Soon, the two of them were inseparable. They always played together at recess and held hands on their way down the double slide. Things had changed a little in first grade when Garrett had ended up in Logan's class instead of Lindy's. Still, she and Garrett never forgot their beginnings and the trust that they had built continued to characterize their relationship. This closeness and trust had lead to people around them shipping them as they grew older. Her dad had repeatedly asked her if she didn't like Garrett, and Logan had thought multiple times during college that they had gotten together without telling him. But it wasn't like that. Feelings or not, they had never gone there.

Now, though, they were getting a second chance, and possibilities of being something more lay before them filling Lindy with excitement. But to her disappointment, Garrett continued to hang back, and the catching up never happened. She knew he was busy, but she couldn't help feeling hurt that he didn't let her in. Eventually, she decided that she was done with being held at arms' length, so she hatched a plan. One day in October when parent-teacher conferences were over and she was feeling particularly brave, she invited him over to her place for a "grading party". They had grading to do as always, and why not make an event out of it? She had long learned that throwing a party had everything to do with creating a mood and that nothing fancy was necessary to make an event fun. Garrett to her relief had said yes to her idea, so she piled her class' persuasive essays and made three batches of her homemade caramel corn. They spent a lot of time laughing about peeks into the kid brain and awkward sentence constructions, but a few times the conversation wandered to their personal lives. A few weeks later, she suggested to him that they have another grading party. He accepted the invitation, and soon the grading parties had become part of their Thursday night routine.

Tonight, Garrett had said very little. She didn't find that too surprising-as the weeks passed, she had become only more convinced that there was something weighing on his mind. It was some mysterious something that he had only ever alluded to, and she was dying of curiosity about what it was. It was only determination to not be pushy that kept her from asking. He would open when he was ready. In the meantime, he was here with her, and he clearly felt comfortable too. He was currently sprawled on the couch drinking pop he had gotten himself from her fridge.

She was on problem 5C of her third math assessment when the sound of his voice interrupted her thoughts. "She left." She looked up to see him staring at the red pen in his hand, a pained expression on his face. "You're so kind, and I'm glad you're reaching out to me, but it's hard for me to trust you when she….she left."

Her mind went a million directions at once. It was reassuring to know that like she'd thought the distance between them was not her fault. At the same time, a feeling of hurt overwhelmed her as she contemplated a pain so deep that it would leave Garrett this wounded. She wanted to find that woman—the one who had done this to him—and give her a piece of her mind. Garrett was so kind he never would have done anything to have deserved this kind of treatment. She wanted all the details knowing that this bombshell was just the tip of the iceberg. "I'm so sorry," she said successfully avoiding the urge to pry.

"Abby," he said in a quiet tone. He was avoiding her eyes and still playing with the pen in his hands. "You might have heard of her…"

Lindy thought the name rung a bell, but she hadn't really been keeping up with Garrett at that point. She merely nodded.

"She was my colleague's younger sister. She was beautiful and spunky—she loved to travel and had a killer spike in volleyball. I am not sure why she even fell for me. Kelsey set us up, and it was love at first sight for me. We started dating, and I thought it would be forever. I asked her to marry me after we had been dating for two years, and she said yes. For reasons she kept to herself, she didn't let me publicize the engagement, but we started planning the wedding. In May, I heard that she had gotten an English teaching internship in Thailand and would be there the whole summer. We were supposed to get married in July…I had to…had to cancel all the arrangements, and I never saw her again." Garrett's voice was starting to break as he finished, and Lindy felt her heart breaking with it. It was so unfair that Garrett would have to deal with something like that.

She tiptoed over to the couch he was sitting on and set the pile of math assessments on the floor so she could take their place at his side. "That sounds so rough. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

He turned to look at her with the smallest hint of a smile on his face. She knew that smile—it was at the smile he made when he was forcing himself to hold himself together. "I'm okay. That was two years ago now."

She wanted to call him out on being so ridiculous as to think he could hide his pain from her when she had known him forever, could write the manual on reading his moods. "But it still hurts."

"Yeah, it still hurts," he agreed. "But that doesn't mean I'm not okay. I'm not the fragile guy I was in high school. I got some help with the childhood stuff, and I have strategies for dealing with my feelings….Not that I don't appreciate your concern," he added after a moment.

Before she could stop herself, she had launched into a passionate reply. "I'd never not care what happened to you. I know it doesn't seem that way when I didn't stay in touch. But I was thinking about you the whole time and hoping you were doing well. I'm just terrible at keeping up with people…it's one of my faults."

"I know," he said smiling a smile that felt more real this time. "You've always had a crush on me."

She felt her jaw drop in surprise. Surely, she had done a better job than that at hiding it. Besides, he was implying that he had known that back in high school when even she hadn't known that her heart would always go pitter pat when she thought of him. "But I really care—," she asserted. "Take my word for it."

His reply was matter-of-fact. "Of course you do. You are one of those people who genuinely cares about everybody, but you also have the world's biggest crush on me and have since like fourth grade."

Her face lit up a bright red. She had been hoping they would talk about this, but she had not been imagining nor wanting a conversation like this one. She honestly didn't know what to say.

"It's okay," Garrett said after a moment. "I've always had a soft spot for you. No one else is Lindy Watson. Maybe that's a good thing because I am not sure the world could handle more," he added with a smile.

"Garrett!"

He chuckled. "But I've never not counted myself lucky to know you. I've been thinking about how to tell you all of that, and I haven't known how. I'm still working on being able to trust again. I didn't know if you'd be okay with that. But I want to get to know you, Lindy. Maybe it's finally our time."

"Okay," she said tentatively. "Am I right in assuming that you want to date me?"

"Yes. Will you let me take you out?"

"I'm cool with that," she said her heart soaring. "It is true that I have a massive crush on you, and your cool teacher persona isn't making it any easier."  
ed. "But I've never not counted myself lucky to know you. I've been thinking about how to tell you all of that, and I haven't known how. I'm still working on being able to trust again. I didn't know if you'd be okay with that. But I want to get to know you, Lindy. Maybe it's finally our time."

"Okay," she said tentatively. "Am I right in assuming that you want to date me?"

"Yes. Will you let me take you out?"

"I'm cool with that," she said her heart soaring. "It is true that I have a massive crush on you, and your cool teacher persona isn't making it any easier."

He laughed and took her hand in his. She felt so overwhelmed by the fact that what she had been wishing for so long was finally happening that she was silent for a moment basking in the feeling of his giant hand in hers knowing that he adored her just as much as she adored him. Perhaps he wasn't ready to trust her with his whole heart yet, but that was alright. They could work on that, and in the meantime things were shaping up to be really good.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the wait for any of you who were reading this. The busy season has started again, so updates will be fewer and farther between. Know, however, that I am committed to finishing this story. At this point, I am thinking that therre will be about two more chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

She dropped the kids off and slunk back to her classroom with a weight on her shoulders. It had been a particularly difficult day. One of her most challenging students had not been feeling well which had only increased the frequency of his interruptions, and the rest of the class had only wanted to talk about what they were going to be for Halloween and all the candy they were going to get. To her disappointment, the amount of learning they had gotten in had felt small and inconsequential even though they had almost finished the science, reading, math, and writing lessons of the day.

She shut the door, turned off the lights, and fell into her desk chair with a sigh. There was so much she needed to do right now—the turn-in basket was full, the floor was littered with pencils and little bits of paper, and the PowerPoint for tomorrow's social studies lesson still wasn't done. But she didn't feel like doing any of it. She knew it wasn't a moment in which to contemplate her efficacy, but how could she not when days like this were just as much of her professional life as the ones where she felt on top of the world?

She heard the click of the door handle and then the squeak of the door opening before Garrett appeared and stood before her in the semi-darkness. He doubtless had missed her coming over to his room to talk about her day and had come to see what was the matter.

He held his arms out. "Come here," he said in the firm but gentle tone he always used with his students.

She stood up and let him take her in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and set her mind on the steady beat of his heart letting every vibration be another reminder that he cared.

"You okay?"

She felt her voice shaking as she replied. "It was a rough day. Easton would not stop interrupting me to complain about his sore throat, and everyone else couldn't stop telling me about Halloween."

"We were talking about Halloween too. It's just the time of year. You know that. Everyone has days like that sometimes…."

She started to interrupt, but he stopped her. "It's time to tell yourself 'good job, teacher' for getting through a hard day, and maybe you can have yourself sing the song you always have the kids do about accepting mistakes." He laughed. "Seriously though, it's going to be alright. I mean it."

"Thanks," she said.

"Can I turn on the light?" He asked as he turned to leave.

"Sure, just leave one light off."

He turned and winked at her before disappearing. She instantly melted. Maybe she had been thinking about what it would be like to date him since August, but nothing could have prepared for the reality of living it. She smiled every time she saw him because her heart was so full of joy to be reminded that he existed and that he was hers. His eyebrows always went up an inch as the smallest smile lit up his face. And then her smile always turned into a laugh because she knew he loved her just as much. After that, he broke into a chuckle unless they were at school when he put on his best teacher look which always failed to stop her laughing and only made her laugh harder. Lindy was always terrified someone would report that they were making a scene, but it was simply too hard for her to bite her lip and hold it all in.

On the whole school was hard. Before, Lindy had wondered if she might grow tired of Garrett seeing him all day at school and then afterwards most days as well. But not once had that thought entered her mind at all. If anything, he was too far away. He was in his classroom all day, and she in hers. Sometimes when her kids were quiet, she could make out his voice speaking gently to his students, but the distance that had once felt so small now felt so great. Yes, he was there, but many feet separated her from hearing what his every word, studying the curve of his eyebrow and his lip, and really feeling that she was in his presence. Closeness had breed greediness. Even merely seeing him in the hall was not enough, she wanted to be reminded what it felt like to kiss him, to feel his arms around her waist.

She always gotten the best possible rating for professionalism on her evaluation. For the first time in her career, she was worried that that might change. How could she say that she would be able to resist the opportunity to pull Garrett into her room and plant one on him? It had already happened once, and it was only luck that it had happened late one evening when few of their colleagues were still in the building. She knew she had the maturity to never pull a stunt like that in front of students, but it still wouldn't be good if Principal Kyle ever walked in on them being so unprofessional. Garrett had started picking her up at her house every day, so he could kiss her good morning on her doorstep rather than at school, but she still sometimes worried perhaps some day here that wouldn't be enough.

And she definitely could do without all the I-told-you-so's from Shantelle. She knew her work best friend just wanted her to be happy, but she did not appreciate the way she took all the credit herself. Shantelle had merely stumbled on a flower ready to blossom—a relationship many many years in the making. She also did not appreciate the way Shantelle asked about every little detail of their relationship. Whatever she and Garrett did and said was nothing but their own business.

Still, those felt like small hardships in the light of the joy she felt to be with Garrett. It was so much more than hugging him or kissing him or talking to him—it was the way his presence lit up her life. He was simply always there. She could vent her frustrations to him, hear him tell her that her silliness and enthusiasm were things she should never change, and tell him about whatever was on her mind. He was always reminding her that she was enough and that her enthusiasm and energy could change the world. Besides, he was talking to her now—telling her about his life, sharing his passions, and trusting her with his emotions. Her heart and mind were at last full to overflowing with Garrett, and she couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than that.

The way that he looked at her sometimes made her tear up because she could see the handwriting on the wall that she wouldn't always be Miss Watson. Despite her contentment with her life as Miss Watson, she had always wanted a family of her own—people she belonged with. She considered herself lucky to have supportive parents, a fun brother and sister-in-law, the cutest nieces and nephews in the world, and kind friends. But still a part of her heart was craving more.

Ever since she had begun teaching, she had had the joy of spending her days with her students. For the year that she spent with them, they were her kids. She looked after them, listened to them, cried with them, laughed with them, and tried to inspire them. Every year, her class felt like a family. But every summer, she sent them off to middle school never more to return. And she always cried because for all that she poured into them it was always a temporary arrangement. She was always happy again when she met her new class the next fall, but it was a joy mixed with sorrowing knowing that the time was coming when they too would leave.

But when she looked at Garrett, she knew he was not going to leave. He was her person; her heart had quickly been settled in the fact that he was the one she had been waiting for all this time. There was this calmness in being with him and feeling his love and knowing that they both cared enough to make this last forever. He was her family, and someday soon, they would have a family of their own.


	7. Chapter 7

Lindy set her mug on the back counter and reached for the cup of unsharpened pencils. She had made pencil sharpening one of the kids' jobs; she had too much on her plate for her students to not do everything they could to help her. Zephr probably forgot—as sweet and well meaning as he was, he did tend to be forgetful. Putting the first pencil in the sharpener, she let her mind wander. As much as she enjoyed the quiet mornings in her classroom, she rarely had the opportunity to savor them; her days were simply too full.

This past week had been especially crazy. With the warm April weather, her students' minds had gone to the arrival of summer, and their restlessness had only grown. She had found herself giving more than the usual number of reminders to be kind, to follow directions, and do their best work. That had only made her feel tired and grumpy. It was hard to be gentle and patient when she felt that the students were causing her trouble. Still, she knew it wasn't all their fault. It was testing season, and this past week alone, her students had been subject to two long testing sessions. The tests were hard; she had seen that for herself when Principal Kyle had had her give them a trial run her first year teaching. She had barely been able to sit through the ordeal, and she knew it was only harder for her students who were just ten or eleven years old. She didn't think the tests were age-appropriate, but they were required, so her students didn't have any choice. Her heart sunk every time she saw her students come back from the computer lab some of them almost in tears. She just smiled at them and tried to remind herself that she was still making a difference.

The exhaustion of the season had her wishing for summer. This year, it meant that relaxing days with Garrett were just around the corner. Still, she couldn't wish the time away. Now that spring break had passed, the end of school would be here before she knew it, and this year and its class would fade into the recesses of her memory. Today was just a blip, a momentary pause before the future arrived. Her first class was ninth graders; soon her current fifth graders would be just as old. Before she knew it, they would all be adults—towering over her and facing the world for themselves. The grand opportunity she had to shape her students' lives came with an expiration date. Come May, they would no longer spending their days learning from her about what it means to love life and live it to the fullest. Soon, they would only hear her voice in their heads.

She hoped it would be enough. There were too many voices telling the kids they weren't enough. There were peers who inconsistently unkind, and busy parents whose words said one thing and actions another and standardized tests which said they could sum up all of the year's learning into a single number. Lindy watched with sadness as her students returned from testing sessions positively demoralized. She tried her best to prepare them; but as long as they thought their worth depended on a number, it was not enough. Why couldn't they see what she saw—that they were beautiful and kind and growing? She'd do anything to change their perception even make the spring twice as long, so long she'd fear summer would never come if only she could help them see themselves for who they were. Perhaps the school district hired her to teach the students the academic skills and knowledge considered necessary for sixth grade, but she aimed even higher. Her goal was to prepare her students for life—to help them to see that the possibilities in front of them were endless if they believed that nothing could stop them. How ill-prepared she sometimes considered herself for such a task, but how unwilling was she to aim any lower.

The sound of footsteps interrupted Lindy from her musings. She glanced up from the sharpener to see Garrett in the doorway. Her heart rate speed up, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. How powerful was he to make her whole day brighter! "What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you were taking a personal day." She didn't know how Garrett handled personal days, but she knew that she always wanted to be as far from the school as possible. His appearance made no sense.

He didn't speak, but merely walked towards her. As he approached, she noticed that his eyes were twinkling and one eyebrow was raised—Garrett was to something. She knew him too well to not know the signs. Once he was close enough, he grabbed both of her hands in both of his. "You ready?" he asked before answering his own question. "You're Lindy; you're ready for anything. Well, in that case, Miss Watson," he said playfully. "I guess I'd better tell you."

He had hardly stopped before she started pleading. "Please, please, tell me Garrett." Her impatience had him laughing and soon her as well. How did surprises have her thirty-five year old self as excited and antsy as a kid on Christmas Eve? It would have been embarrassing except that she had learned to let go of the self-consciousness years ago. Her quirky excitement made the world brighter, and she'd take some laughs at her own expense if that were the case. Besides, she knew that for all his griping about it over the years Garrett wouldn't have liked her any other way. Making the world brighter and making Garrett happy at the same time, well, that had her feeling like she had hit the jackpot.

"Before you say anything, you need to know I triple checked with everyone, and they all said it'd work...but you're taking a personal day today. We're going to go do something fun."

She could hardly believe her ears. Garrett had gone to the trouble of clearing this with her friends and family and Principal Kyle and had written sub plans for her? It sounded too good to be true. "Really?" was all she could manage.

All of the sudden, his hands had moved from holding her hands to the side of her face. He felt so close. His eyes had stopped twinkling and had soft look in them. She wanted to reach up and kiss him, but they were at school. This was not supposed to be happening here. "It's okay, yes?" he asked gently.

"Oh yes," she said pulling him into a bear hug and burying her head in his chest. "How'd you know?"

"Today would be boring if you were here and not with me." Garrett was seriously the sweetest, and Lindy felt like her heart would burst. How had she gotten so lucky as to have this kind man not just for a friend but for a boyfriend? She had no idea how, but she definitely wasn't complaining.

Garrett's voice interrupted her thoughts. "If you look on your computer, I sent you the sub plans. You'll probably want to tweak them. I can get the room ready."

She let go of him and walked over to the computer. "Sure," she replied. She laughed. "I still can't believe it. Today is going to be amazing. I have perfect confidence in your planning skills."

Garrett glanced up from the back counter with a smirk. "I appreciate it, but I don't know if I deserve quite that much confidence. I mean after all I'm the one who planned the trip to the arcade across the street right after a school event. But if we're together, I'm sure that it will all turn out all right."

Lindy glanced back at the computer and couldn't help thinking that Garrett had never been more right. As much as she had loved the single life, nothing could compare to walking through life with her favorite person at her side. Garrett was truly wonderful; and in loving him, savoring him, and making his life better; she had found so much joy. They had been talking about the future recently, and she knew it wouldn't be long—perhaps it would even happen today—before he would ask her to give up life as Miss Watson for that as Mrs. Spenger. She knew she would say yes. She was ready to start forever with him.


End file.
